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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. CRIGI-ITO-N. CENTER SEAL AND BY-PASS VALVE. N0. 449,578. Patented Mar. 31, 1891.

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W. (BRIGHTON. GENTEE SEAL AND BY-EASS VALVE.

No. 449,578.v Patented Mar. 31., 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM ORIGHTON, OF FORT W'AYNE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE KERR- MURRAY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CENTER-SEAL AND BY-PASS VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,578, dated March 31, 1891.

Application tiled January 19 1891. Serial No. 37 8,2 63. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CRIGHTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort IVayne, in the county of Allen and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsin Center-Seal and By-Pass Valves; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a center-seal and by-pass valve adapted for connecting a series of gas-purifying boxes, from one to four or more, with a mainv gas-supply pipe and a main gas-discharge pipe and for circulating gas through a single box or through allot the boxes ot the series, or through any two or three boxes in the series.

In conformity with the usual custom of set ting four purifying-boxes in a plant I have constructed and arranged my center-seal and by-pass valve for connection with the inlet and outlet pipes of four purifying-boxes.

The principal object of my invention is to provide simple and effective means for simultaneously connecting fourpurifying-boxes in the circuit between the main supply and discharge pipes.

Another object is to provide for cutting out of the circuit either one, two, or three boxes, as desired, or forV entirely closing the circuit between the supply and discharge pipes.

My improvement consists, mainly, in a peculiarly constructed hollow valve plug arranged centrally in the turning cap of the usual center-seal valve.

My improvement also consists in certain details of construction of such turning cap to adapt it for use with my central hollow valvelug.

lith the centerseal valve now generally in use but three purifying-boxes can be connected in the circuit at one time, and some one of the four boxes of the plant is necessarily idle all of the time, thereby causing a serious loss in the efficiency of the plant. By my irnprovements this difficulty is overcome, and any purifying-box after having been cleaned and recharged can be brought back into the circuit without cutting out of circuit any of the other boxes, as is the case with the old form of center-seal valve.

I will now describe my improved Valve in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a vertical section of the center-seal valve on line x Fig. 3. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section on the line y y through the upper part of the valve. Fig. 3 represents a horizontal section, on enlarged scale, through the turning cap and central plug. Fig. 4 represents a detached view in horizontal section of my central hollow plug.

The center seal is constructed of tour principal parts-viz., the lower section F, the middle section G, the cap Il, and the central plug I. The lower section F has arranged within it the usual central passage A, with which connects laterally the main supplypipe A. The usual annular chamberBsurrounds passage A and has connecting with it laterally the main discharge-pipe B. The section F also contains at the bottom the usual drip and seal chamber C, which in practice is supplied with a sealing-liquid for the lowerends of passage A and annular chamber B. It is also provided with openings at the bottom, closed by caps c c, for giving access to its interior. An overflow-pipe may be connected to one of such openings when the cap is removed.

The middle section G of the valve is provided with concentric walls a Z), forming extensions o'f the passageA and annular chamber B, and also with the usual radial partition-plates connecting the wall b with the outer wall of the chamber and dividing it into eight compartments or subdivisions, such as C O2, corresponding with the eight pipes (four inlet and four outlet) which connect with the four purifying-boxes. Fourinletpipes E connect the four compartments O with the four boxes, and four outlet-pipes E2 connect said boxes with the four compartments O2, all in the usual manner.

rI he turning cap H of my center-seal valve is of special and improved construction to adapt it for use with my new central hollow plug I. The cap is provided with a central IOO opening adapted to receive a preferably tapering plug I, and at the bottom is provided with a circular or segmental floor K, inclosing about seven-eighths of the circumference of the central opening between the radial pa-rtition 7L and TLS, and of sufficient width to cover the annular chamber B in the middle section G. A segmental space M, equal to one-eighth of the circumference around the central open ing and over the annular chamber B, is left open between the radial partition-plates h and 71.8 for the escape of gas from any purifying-box with which it happens to be in connection to the main discharge-pipe.

'lhe cap Il is divided into eight compartments by the vertical radial partition-plates 71.', h2, 7L, h4, h5, it, 7L?, and hs, extending from the outer circumferential wall to the i11- ner edge of the floor K and forming at their inner edges a support for the central valveplug I. The short space between the inner ends of the partition-plates 7L 7b is closed by a vertical wall L, extending from the top to the bottom of the cap and forming a partition between one of the compartments Il2 in the cap and its central opening containing the plug for directing gas down into the annular outlet-chamber I3 below the floor K. The radial partition-plates 7L to 7N, inclusive, correspond to the radial partitions in the middle section G and divide the cap up into compartments 1I H2, corresponding to the compartments C C2 in such middle section G. In practical use an outlet-chamber II of the cap is always arranged directly above an outletchamber C of the middle section G.

The abutting edges of the walls and partition-plates, both in section G and in cap II, are planed smooth, so as to make tight joints and permit the cap to be readily rotated upon section G. The cap II maybe rotated by any of the well-known mechanism adapted to the purpose, and the plug I may be independently rotated within the cap by means of a wrench applied to the squared projection in the top plate n1.

My central hollow plug I is arranged in the cap II directly above and in communication with the central passage A of the valve.`

It is closed at the top by a plate m, provided with flanges which overlap the top plate II and is open at the bottom. The plug I is preferably formed with four walls o', o?, 03, and c", all joining at the bottom with the annular rim vn, and also joining laterally with the vertical circumferential postsp ppp, which join the lower rim n. with the top plate in. The walls c o2 o3 are formed re-entrant or concave, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so as to form by-pass recesses N N N for the passage of gas between the different compartments II and II2 of the cap. The wall o" is of concave form and is flush with the outer circumference of the plug, being adapted to iit the wall L between the inner ends of the partition-plates 7i' and hs, as shown in Fig. 3.

The re-entrant walls o o2 frl span the spaces` between the alternate partitiOnplateS, as 7L' hl', between 7p* and 7i, and between 7L and h3. Between the ports p 19', the., I preferably provide the strengtheni11g-posts n', which extend from the lower rim n' to the top plate m, and such posts n' register with alternate partitionplates, as 7L?) h, the. The annular rim a at the bottom ts within the circular floor K, as shown in Fig. l. The wall ol and the circumferential posts of the plug are preferably inclined downward and inward, so th'at the plug maybe more readilylifted out of its seat when desired.

Fig. 3 represents the cap and plugin proper position for connecting four purifying-boxes in the circuit between the main supply and discharge pipes. By turning the plug one fourth revolution to the right one box will be cut out and three remain in the circuit. Onefourth additional turn to the right cuts out another box, leaving but two in the circuit, and one-fourth additional turn tothe right leaves but one box in the circuit. The convex wall c* of the plug is provided with an opening o for forming a passage between the interior of the plug and any one of the inletchambers Il in the cap. Should it be desired to shut off the fiow of gas to all of the purifying-boxes, the valve-plug I is turned oneeight revolution to the left from the position shown in Fig. 3, so that opening 0 will be covered by the segmental wall L, connecting the inner ends of the partitions 71, hg.

Then operating with four boxes for purifying gas, and it is desired to remove the fouled purifying material from one of the boxes, theplug is first turned one-fourth revolution to the right from the position shown in Fig. to throw box No. l out of the circuit. During the short period of cleaning and recharging box No. l but three boxes connect in the circuit and are in use for purifying gas; but as soon as box No. l has been recharged it will be brought back as the last box of the circuit by turning cap I-I onefourth revolution to the right and then yturning the plug back onc'fourth revolution to its first relative posit-ion in the cap. The gas will now first enter box No. 2, and then pass successively through boxes No. 3, No. it, and lastly through box No. l. In order to clean and recharge the succeeding boxes, the same procedure is followed-viz., first turning the plug one-fourth revolution to the right to throw out of circuit the fouled box, and then, after cleaning and recharging such box, turn ing the cap one-fourth revolution to the right and the plug back onc-fourth revolution to the left to its previous relative position in the cap, thus bringing the rechargcdbox back as the last in the circuit. This form of cap and plug is simple in construction and operation and quite effective in practical use.

XVhcn the cap and plug are set for connecting four boxes `in the circuit, as shown in Fig. 3, the gas flows from the main supplypipe A up the central passage A, through the IOO IIO

hollow plug I, and through its side opening 0 into compartment I-I, thence down through the corresponding compartment C in section G, thence down through pipe E to box No. l, and returns from such box through pipe E2 up into the compartment H2 of the cap. Now, in order to pass into box No. 2, the gas first passes from compartment H2 through the by-pass recess N in the plug int-o the compartment H of the cap, from which it passes, as before explained, into box No. 2 and back into another compartment H2 of the cap, from which it passes through the second by-pass recess N in the plug in order to reach box No. 3. Thegas on returning from box No. 3 into compartment H2 passes through the third by-pass recess N in the plug and thence out of box No. 4, on returning from which it passes from the last compartment H2 ot' the cap through the segmental opening M in floor K down into the annular chamber B, and thence escapes by the main dischargepipe B. With the plug standing in the cap, as shown in Fig. 3, the gas can be made to enter first any one of the four boxes by turning the cap H into the proper position, and by'turning the plug around within the cap either one, two, or three of the boxes may be cut out of the circuit. n

I do not broadly claim herein the valve chamber or cap divided into compartments and containing a plug-valve having an opening in its wall to direct the flow of gas into the compartments of the cap; nor do I herein broadly claim such valve chamber or cap containing a plug-valve provided with inlet and outlet openings and with a recess in its walls serving as a by-pass for gas between compartments of the cap, as such construction is made the subject of a separate application bearing Serial No. 356,853, tiled June 26, 1890.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. In a center-seal valve, a turning cap divided by radial partitions into suitable compartments and provided with a central hollow plug provided with an openingin its wall connecting its interior with one of the compartments of the cap, and also provided with by-pass recesses tor connecting inlet and outlet compartments of the cap in pairs or sets of two, substantially as described.

I 2. lIn a center seal for gas-purifying boxes, the turning-cap section provided with a central opening containing a hollow plug and also provided with radial partitions extending from said hollow plug to its outer Wall and dividing it into suitable inlet and outlet compartments, said hollow plug having an opening in its side wall forming a passage from its interior into a compartment of the cap and also having two or more by-pass recesses in its wall connecting adjacent inlet and outlet compartments of the cap in pairs or sets of two, substantially as described.

3. The cap-section divided by radial partitionsinto inlet and outlet compartments and having a central vertical opening, in combination with a hollow plug seated in said central opening and having three re-entrant walls connecting with three circumferential posts arranged to register with alternate radial partition-plates of the cap and forming by-pass recesses connecting adjacent inlet and outlet compartments, said plug also having an opening in its side wall for the passage of gas from its interior into the inletcompartments of the cap, substantially as described.

et. In a center seal for gas-purifying boxes, the combination of the gas-inlet pipe with the valve-chamber located above the same and divided by suitable partition-walls to direct the iiow of gas and containing a hollow plug connecting directly with the inlet-pipe, said plug having four Walls, one of which fits snugly within the inner wall of the valvechamber and having an opening to direct the flow of gas into the compartments of the valve- 

